Makwerekwere (pronounced: /mɑːkwɛrɛkwɛrɛ/ or MAH-query-query) is a slang term used in South Africa since the 2000s to refer to foreigners, especially those from other African countries. The word is considered xenophobic, afrophobic,[1] offensive and derogatory.[2] It has been used in posts that incited the anti-immigrant violence in South Africa in May 2008. The use of the term has been condemned by politicians and humanitarian groups.
While there is no consensus on the origin of the word, the term is believed to have originated from Xhosa, one of South Africa's official languages, and have been derived from the plural prefixama- and kwerekwere;[3] the latter is an imitative sound that South Africans use to represent the speech of people from other African countries.[4] Foreigners were referred to as "barbarians" by the Greeks because they allegedly shouted "bar, bar" incomprehensibly; South Africans assert that when immigrants open their lips, they utter "kwere, kwere".[5][6]
According to another theory, the term makwerekwere originated from the French phrase "macaque qui travaille", meaning "monkey who works", which was used to describe African labourers brought to the French colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries. This derogatory phrase was later shortened to "macaque", which became a common racial slur used by French settlers against the African workers. The term "Makwerekwere" could have been a South African modification of this phrase.[7]
Another theory suggests that the word has its origins in the Congolese language Lingala, where the word "werekere" means to wander around aimlessly. It is believed that South Africans later adopted the word to describe immigrants who are perceived to be aimlessly wandering around the country.[8]
The pronunciation of "makwerekwere" is not "ma queer queer" but rather MAH-query-query (/mɑːkwɛrɛkwɛrɛ/), and the possibility of a Tswana origin is suggested due to its abundance of "r" sounds.[9]
Usage
The term makwerekwere has been in use in South Africa since the early 2000s and has become a common derogatory slur used against foreigners, particularly those from other African countries,[10][11] including immigrants from Zimbabwe,[12] Nigeria,[13] and Somalia.[14] It is used to create a sense of "otherness" and to justify discriminatory and xenophobic behavior towards foreign nationals.[4][15] Matsinhe argued that the term Makwerekwere is used to dehumanise black Africans and make them seem less human than South Africans.[16][17] The term has become so pervasive that it has been included in dictionaries as “an offensive and derogatory slur used in South Africa to describe foreigners from other African countries.”[18]
The usage of the term makwerekwere has been linked to xenophobic attacks in South Africa.[19][20] In May 2008, a wave of xenophobic attacks swept across the country, resulting in the deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of thousands,[10][21] during which the slur has been used in online posts.[22] Foreign nationals, particularly those from other African countries, were targeted in the attacks, with the attackers using the term "Makwerekwere" to refer to their victims. The attacks, including police brutality,[23] were fueled by a combination of economic factors and deep-seated prejudices against foreign nationals.[7][8] These victims are often scapegoated for various issues, including crime, disease, and unemployment,[24] and are used as a physical reminder of difference.[25][26] Similar distrust of foreigners has been observed in South Africa's history, dating back to the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) and the Second Anglo-Boer War.[9]
Julius Malema (pictured) called for South Africans to stop using the slur.
The usage of the term makwerekwere has been condemned by various groups, including the South African Human Rights Commission. In a 2008 statement, the commission called on South Africans to refrain from using the term as it promotes hatred and intolerance towards foreign nationals. The commission urged South Africans to respect the dignity and rights of all people, regardless of their nationality.[27]Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters,[28] called for South Africans to stop using the slur, and said
“We are one family. Borders were imposed on us. You must not buy into the story of the existence of Botswana or of Lesotho because all these borders are an imagination. You are saying #BlackLivesMatter, yet you support the borders. You say you don’t like imperialism and colonialism, but you support the borders. The border was created by colonisers.”
— Julius Malema, addressing protesters near the US embassy, Pretoria[29]
In popular culture
In popular culture, particularly in South African films, the term makwerekwere has been used to frame certain individuals and groups as outsiders. For example, the 2005 South African slapstick comedy film Mama Jack uses the term to refer to certain characters in the film. Tagwirei noted how "Mama Jack" frames certain individuals and groups as makwerekwere, and uses humour and caricature to dehumanise foreigners and perpetuate harmful stereotypes.[30]
In South African author Phaswane Mpe's 2001 novel Welcome to Our Hillbrow, the protagonist Refentse moves to Hillbrow, a place devoid of a history and shared values or beliefs, and encounters the makwerekwere treatment firsthand.[31] The novel shows how the makwerekwere are seen as outsiders and often blamed for various social ills such as crime and disease.[32] The characters in the novel are linked through a trope of infection, and the association between the outsider and disease is explored.[33]
Flatfoot Dance Company's trilogy Homeland, and Girl Ruggedeyes’ Bhenga dance were used to protest against xenophobic attacks and the use of the slur, as well as exploring the concept of Ubuntu.[34] In 2004, Boom Shaka released the kwaito classic "Makwerekwere"[35] which discouraged xenophobia.[36]
Barbarian – which came to refer to people who spoke neither Greek nor other "civilized" languages (such as Latin), and derived from a root meaning "speaking incomprehensibly" or "babbling"
^"Afrophobia: Language does the dirty work". www.news.uct.ac.za. from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^"Makwerekwere". The New York Times. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^"amakwerekwere". Collins Dictionary. from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ ab"LitCharts". LitCharts. from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^Nixon, Rob (1 November 2001). "South Africans Only". The Atlantic. from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^"A ticket to prosperity". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ abMansell, Kate (24 January 2017). "⇉A Literature Review of Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Essay Example". GraduateWay. from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ ab"South Africa: What is the meaning of "makwerekwere"?". Global Voices. 25 May 2008. from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ ab"Makwerekwere". Khanya. 23 May 2008. from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ abMafukata, Mavhungu Abel (31 January 2015). "Xenophobianization of "Makwerekwere" as Used against Foreign Nationals in South Africa". The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies. ISSN 2321-9203.
^Vandeyar, Saloshna; Vandeyar, Thirusellvan (1 February 2015). The Construction, Negotiation, and Representation of Immigrant Student Identities in South African schools. IAP. ISBN978-1-62396-888-5.
^McGregor, JoAnn; Primorac, Ranka (1 June 2010). Zimbabwe's New Diaspora: Displacement and the Cultural Politics of Survival. Berghahn Books. ISBN978-1-84545-841-6.
^Adesanmi, Pius (28 September 2012). You're Not a Country, Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN978-0-14-352865-4.
^"South Africa: No safe haven for Somalis". BBC News. 10 November 2011. from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^"'I am Makwerekwere'". The Mail & Guardian. 8 March 2005. from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^MATSINHE, DAVID MARIO (2011). "Africa's Fear of Itself: the ideology of "Makwerekwere" in South Africa". Third World Quarterly. 32 (2): 295–313. doi:10.1080/01436597.2011.560470. ISSN 0143-6597. JSTOR 41300231. S2CID 219627530. from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^Mwakikagile, Godfrey (2008). African Immigrants in South Africa. New Africa Press. ISBN978-0-9814258-2-5.
^"South Africa's migrants fear fresh violence". The Independent. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^"L'Afrique du Sud malade de la xénophobie". Le Monde.fr (in French). 13 March 2017. from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Muzondidya, James (1 June 2010), "1. Makwerekwere: Migration, Citizenship and Identity among Zimbabweans in South Africa", Zimbabwe's New Diaspora, Berghahn Books, pp. 37–58, doi:10.1515/9781845458416-003, ISBN978-1-84545-841-6, from the original on 12 October 2022, retrieved 7 May 2023
^"Monitoring hate speech in South Africa, Part 1". Peace News. 21 May 2019.
^Maclean, Ruth. "Police swoop on African refugees hiding in church". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Adida, Claire (3 June 2014). "Scapegoating Africa's immigrants". The Washington Post. from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Mathers, Kathryn; Landau, Loren (2007). "Natives, tourists, and makwerekwere: ethical concerns with 'Proudly South African' tourism". Development Southern Africa. 24 (3): 523. doi:10.1080/03768350701445632. ISSN 0376-835X. S2CID 146511492.
^South Africa Xenophobia: Foreigners are taking our jobs' - BBC News, from the original on 8 October 2022, retrieved 7 May 2023
^B (6 June 2019). "Makwerekwere". Somali Christian Ministries. from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Keppler, Virginia (25 May 2018). "Malema says Khoi-San are the 'original' South Africans". The Citizen. from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Zimbabwe, New (8 June 2020). "Xenophobic South Africans can't champion #BlackLivesMatter – Malema". NewZimbabwe.com. from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^Tagwirei, Cuthbeth (1 December 2017). "Mama Jack and the Spectre of makwerekwere". Journal of African Cinemas. 9 (2–3): 231–242. doi:10.1386/jac.9.2-3.231_1. ISSN 1754-9221.
^Mpe, Phaswane (24 February 2011). Welcome to Our Hillbrow: A Novel of Postapartheid South Africa. Ohio University Press. ISBN978-0-8214-4371-2.
^DAVIS, EMILY S. (2013). "Contagion, Cosmopolitanism, and Human Rights in Phaswane Mpe's "Welcome to Our Hillbrow"". College Literature. 40 (3): 99–112. ISSN 0093-3139. JSTOR 24543224.
^Castelyn, Sarahleigh (2019). We All are Makwerekwere: Xenophobia, Nationality, Dance and South Africa(PDF). pp. 38–41.
^"Kelly Khumalo Will Play Lebo Mathosa in an Upcoming Mini-Series About the Kwaito Star's Life - OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
Further readings
Eyewitness News (YouTube) (25 November 2019). State of Nation: A deeper look into the Xenophobic crisis in South Africa.
Mário., Matsinhe, David (2016). Apartheid vertigo : the rise in discrimination against Africans in South Africa. Routledge. ISBN978-1-315-56737-2. OCLC 952727586.
Ekanade, Israel (2022), Muzee, Hannah; Sunjo, Tata Emmanuel; Enaifoghe, Andrew Osehi (eds.), "From Ubuntu to Makwerekwere: Reinvigorating Belonging in Democratic South Africa", Democracy and Africanness: Contemporary Issues in Africa’s Democratization and Governance, Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 73–88, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-11248-5_6, ISBN978-3-031-11248-5, retrieved 7 May 2023
May 19, 2023
makwerekwere, pronounced, ɑː, query, query, slang, term, used, south, africa, since, 2000s, refer, foreigners, especially, those, from, other, african, countries, word, considered, xenophobic, afrophobic, offensive, derogatory, been, used, posts, that, incited. Makwerekwere pronounced m ɑː k w ɛ r ɛ k w ɛ r ɛ or MAH query query is a slang term used in South Africa since the 2000s to refer to foreigners especially those from other African countries The word is considered xenophobic afrophobic 1 offensive and derogatory 2 It has been used in posts that incited the anti immigrant violence in South Africa in May 2008 The use of the term has been condemned by politicians and humanitarian groups Contents 1 Etymology 2 Usage 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingsEtymology EditWhile there is no consensus on the origin of the word the term is believed to have originated from Xhosa one of South Africa s official languages and have been derived from the plural prefix ama and kwerekwere 3 the latter is an imitative sound that South Africans use to represent the speech of people from other African countries 4 Foreigners were referred to as barbarians by the Greeks because they allegedly shouted bar bar incomprehensibly South Africans assert that when immigrants open their lips they utter kwere kwere 5 6 According to another theory the term makwerekwere originated from the French phrase macaque qui travaille meaning monkey who works which was used to describe African labourers brought to the French colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries This derogatory phrase was later shortened to macaque which became a common racial slur used by French settlers against the African workers The term Makwerekwere could have been a South African modification of this phrase 7 Another theory suggests that the word has its origins in the Congolese language Lingala where the word werekere means to wander around aimlessly It is believed that South Africans later adopted the word to describe immigrants who are perceived to be aimlessly wandering around the country 8 The pronunciation of makwerekwere is not ma queer queer but rather MAH query query m ɑː k w ɛ r ɛ k w ɛ r ɛ and the possibility of a Tswana origin is suggested due to its abundance of r sounds 9 Usage EditThe term makwerekwere has been in use in South Africa since the early 2000s and has become a common derogatory slur used against foreigners particularly those from other African countries 10 11 including immigrants from Zimbabwe 12 Nigeria 13 and Somalia 14 It is used to create a sense of otherness and to justify discriminatory and xenophobic behavior towards foreign nationals 4 15 Matsinhe argued that the term Makwerekwere is used to dehumanise black Africans and make them seem less human than South Africans 16 17 The term has become so pervasive that it has been included in dictionaries as an offensive and derogatory slur used in South Africa to describe foreigners from other African countries 18 The usage of the term makwerekwere has been linked to xenophobic attacks in South Africa 19 20 In May 2008 a wave of xenophobic attacks swept across the country resulting in the deaths of over 60 people and the displacement of thousands 10 21 during which the slur has been used in online posts 22 Foreign nationals particularly those from other African countries were targeted in the attacks with the attackers using the term Makwerekwere to refer to their victims The attacks including police brutality 23 were fueled by a combination of economic factors and deep seated prejudices against foreign nationals 7 8 These victims are often scapegoated for various issues including crime disease and unemployment 24 and are used as a physical reminder of difference 25 26 Similar distrust of foreigners has been observed in South Africa s history dating back to the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek ZAR and the Second Anglo Boer War 9 Julius Malema pictured called for South Africans to stop using the slur The usage of the term makwerekwere has been condemned by various groups including the South African Human Rights Commission In a 2008 statement the commission called on South Africans to refrain from using the term as it promotes hatred and intolerance towards foreign nationals The commission urged South Africans to respect the dignity and rights of all people regardless of their nationality 27 Julius Malema leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters 28 called for South Africans to stop using the slur and said We are one family Borders were imposed on us You must not buy into the story of the existence of Botswana or of Lesotho because all these borders are an imagination You are saying BlackLivesMatter yet you support the borders You say you don t like imperialism and colonialism but you support the borders The border was created by colonisers Julius Malema addressing protesters near the US embassy Pretoria 29 In popular culture EditIn popular culture particularly in South African films the term makwerekwere has been used to frame certain individuals and groups as outsiders For example the 2005 South African slapstick comedy film Mama Jack uses the term to refer to certain characters in the film Tagwirei noted how Mama Jack frames certain individuals and groups as makwerekwere and uses humour and caricature to dehumanise foreigners and perpetuate harmful stereotypes 30 In South African author Phaswane Mpe s 2001 novel Welcome to Our Hillbrow the protagonist Refentse moves to Hillbrow a place devoid of a history and shared values or beliefs and encounters the makwerekwere treatment firsthand 31 The novel shows how the makwerekwere are seen as outsiders and often blamed for various social ills such as crime and disease 32 The characters in the novel are linked through a trope of infection and the association between the outsider and disease is explored 33 Flatfoot Dance Company s trilogy Homeland and Girl Ruggedeyes Bhenga dance were used to protest against xenophobic attacks and the use of the slur as well as exploring the concept of Ubuntu 34 In 2004 Boom Shaka released the kwaito classic Makwerekwere 35 which discouraged xenophobia 36 See also EditAjam Barbarian which came to refer to people who spoke neither Greek nor other civilized languages such as Latin and derived from a root meaning speaking incomprehensibly or babbling Chichimeca Mleccha Nemets the name given to Germany or the German people in many Slavic languages with a similar derivation to Ajam SkraelingReferences Edit Afrophobia Language does the dirty work www news uct ac za Archived from the original on 3 December 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Makwerekwere The New York Times 17 August 2010 Retrieved 7 May 2023 amakwerekwere Collins Dictionary Archived from the original on 26 April 2021 Retrieved 25 April 2023 a b LitCharts LitCharts Archived from the original on 25 April 2023 Retrieved 25 April 2023 Nixon Rob 1 November 2001 South Africans Only The Atlantic Archived from the original on 16 December 2022 Retrieved 16 December 2022 A ticket to prosperity The Economist ISSN 0013 0613 Archived from the original on 7 May 2023 Retrieved 7 May 2023 a b Mansell Kate 24 January 2017 A Literature Review of Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Essay Example GraduateWay Archived from the original on 6 December 2021 Retrieved 7 May 2023 a b South Africa What is the meaning of makwerekwere Global Voices 25 May 2008 Archived from the original on 25 April 2023 Retrieved 25 April 2023 a b Makwerekwere Khanya 23 May 2008 Archived from the original on 25 April 2023 Retrieved 25 April 2023 a b Mafukata Mavhungu Abel 31 January 2015 Xenophobianization of Makwerekwere as Used against Foreign Nationals in South Africa The International Journal of Humanities amp Social Studies ISSN 2321 9203 Vandeyar Saloshna Vandeyar Thirusellvan 1 February 2015 The Construction Negotiation and Representation of Immigrant Student Identities in South African schools IAP ISBN 978 1 62396 888 5 McGregor JoAnn Primorac Ranka 1 June 2010 Zimbabwe s New Diaspora Displacement and the Cultural Politics of Survival Berghahn Books ISBN 978 1 84545 841 6 Adesanmi Pius 28 September 2012 You re Not a Country Africa Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN 978 0 14 352865 4 South Africa No safe haven for Somalis BBC News 10 November 2011 Archived from the original on 25 January 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 I am Makwerekwere The Mail amp Guardian 8 March 2005 Archived from the original on 1 May 2023 Retrieved 7 May 2023 MATSINHE DAVID MARIO 2011 Africa s Fear of Itself the ideology of Makwerekwere in South Africa Third World Quarterly 32 2 295 313 doi 10 1080 01436597 2011 560470 ISSN 0143 6597 JSTOR 41300231 S2CID 219627530 Archived from the original on 2 May 2023 Retrieved 25 April 2023 Mwakikagile Godfrey 2008 African Immigrants in South Africa New Africa Press ISBN 978 0 9814258 2 5 makwerekwere Macmillan Dictionary South Africa s migrants fear fresh violence The Independent 8 July 2010 Retrieved 7 May 2023 L Afrique du Sud malade de la xenophobie Le Monde fr in French 13 March 2017 Archived from the original on 27 November 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Muzondidya James 1 June 2010 1 Makwerekwere Migration Citizenship and Identity among Zimbabweans in South Africa Zimbabwe s New Diaspora Berghahn Books pp 37 58 doi 10 1515 9781845458416 003 ISBN 978 1 84545 841 6 archived from the original on 12 October 2022 retrieved 7 May 2023 Monitoring hate speech in South Africa Part 1 Peace News 21 May 2019 Maclean Ruth Police swoop on African refugees hiding in church The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Adida Claire 3 June 2014 Scapegoating Africa s immigrants The Washington Post Archived from the original on 18 September 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Mathers Kathryn Landau Loren 2007 Natives tourists and makwerekwere ethical concerns with Proudly South African tourism Development Southern Africa 24 3 523 doi 10 1080 03768350701445632 ISSN 0376 835X S2CID 146511492 South Africa Xenophobia Foreigners are taking our jobs BBC News archived from the original on 8 October 2022 retrieved 7 May 2023 B 6 June 2019 Makwerekwere Somali Christian Ministries Archived from the original on 30 November 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Keppler Virginia 25 May 2018 Malema says Khoi San are the original South Africans The Citizen Archived from the original on 15 September 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Zimbabwe New 8 June 2020 Xenophobic South Africans can t champion BlackLivesMatter Malema NewZimbabwe com Archived from the original on 12 August 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Tagwirei Cuthbeth 1 December 2017 Mama Jack and the Spectre of makwerekwere Journal of African Cinemas 9 2 3 231 242 doi 10 1386 jac 9 2 3 231 1 ISSN 1754 9221 Mpe Phaswane 24 February 2011 Welcome to Our Hillbrow A Novel of Postapartheid South Africa Ohio University Press ISBN 978 0 8214 4371 2 Nyamnjoh Francis B 4 July 2013 Insiders and Outsiders Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa Zed Books Ltd ISBN 978 1 84813 707 3 DAVIS EMILY S 2013 Contagion Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights in Phaswane Mpe s Welcome to Our Hillbrow College Literature 40 3 99 112 ISSN 0093 3139 JSTOR 24543224 Castelyn Sarahleigh 2019 We All are Makwerekwere Xenophobia Nationality Dance and South Africa PDF pp 38 41 Makwerekwere retrieved 7 May 2023 Kelly Khumalo Will Play Lebo Mathosa in an Upcoming Mini Series About the Kwaito Star s Life OkayAfrica www okayafrica com Archived from the original on 31 January 2023 Retrieved 7 May 2023 Further readings EditEyewitness News YouTube 25 November 2019 State of Nation A deeper look into the Xenophobic crisis in South Africa Mario Matsinhe David 2016 Apartheid vertigo the rise in discrimination against Africans in South Africa Routledge ISBN 978 1 315 56737 2 OCLC 952727586 Ekanade Israel 2022 Muzee Hannah Sunjo Tata Emmanuel Enaifoghe Andrew Osehi eds From Ubuntu to Makwerekwere Reinvigorating Belonging in Democratic South Africa Democracy and Africanness Contemporary Issues in Africa s Democratization and Governance Advances in African Economic Social and Political Development Cham Springer International Publishing pp 73 88 doi 10 1007 978 3 031 11248 5 6 ISBN 978 3 031 11248 5 retrieved 7 May 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Makwerekwere amp oldid 1155684873, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
